The subject of the present invention is fencing equipment, including a weapon and a protective mask.
Traditionally, the weapons used to practise sport fencing (xc3xa9pxc3xa9e, sabre, foil) comprise an electrical system connected to the tip of the blade which signals a touch on a suitable machine via an external electrical wire which is connected to a suitable piste on which the fencing bouts take place.
In order to encourage young people to take up fencing, simplified forms of the weapons have already been proposedxe2x80x94for example toy foils in which the blade is made partly or wholly from plastic. These toy weapons have, however, proved unsatisfactory for various reasons: on account of their structure, because they cannot be relied upon always to signal a touch in an effective manner and because, in the final analysis, they fail fully to simulate any of the three weapons used in sport fencingxe2x80x94i.e. the foil, xc3xa9pxc3xa9e or sabre.
The primary object of the present invention is to overcome the abovementioned drawbacks.
A specific object of the invention is to produce a weapon for practising sport fencing which has a simple, but nevertheless robust and functional, structure.
A further specific object of the invention is to produce a weapon for practising sport fencing which reproduces automatic registering of a touch in a simple, cost-effective and safe way, without the need for external wires connected to special scoring machines.
Another specific object of the invention is to produce a weapon for practising fencing in all its forms, in other words one that can simulate all three weaponsxe2x80x94the foil, xc3xa9pxc3xa9e and sabrexe2x80x94equally well and to virtually their full individual scope, in order to provide more effective teaching of the sport using a practical, safe, effective and inexpensive instrument.
Another object of the present invention is to provide equipment for practising sport fencing in all its forms and without wires, includingxe2x80x94in addition to the weaponxe2x80x94a protective mask that is more comfortable, practical and effective, not only when compared with conventional masks which are made from steel mesh but also the plastic ones available today, and at the same time safe and shaped such as to ensure optimum vision.
According to the invention these objects are achieved by means of a weapon, the basic characteristics of which are defined in claims 1-15, by means of a protective mask as defined in claims 16 and 17, and by means of equipment for practising sport fencing in all its forms and without wires, as defined in claim 18.